


Help you

by GeneralHuxNeedsRest



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Classic Kylux, Hurt/Comfort, Hux needs a hug, M/M, Post Force Awakens, comforting Kylo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 05:49:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13897614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeneralHuxNeedsRest/pseuds/GeneralHuxNeedsRest
Summary: Ren looks him in the eye and puts the sponge down. “There,” he says. “You are as good as new now.”Hux shakes his head. “No,” he whispers. “I will never be.”Kylo takes a step back and looks Hux up and down. The General tries to see himself with his eyes and is disgusted; he is pale and thin, his skin sickly yellow and the unnaturally bright light of his quarters surely doesn’t make it any better. He hates himself and expects the Knight to feel the same emotion towards him.He wonders if Ren can read his thoughts.“You should get some rest, General.”





	Help you

Hux has always been good at covering bruises, ever since he learned just how heavy his father's hand could be. And since then, he had more than twenty years of practice.

Something as irrelevant as bruises covering his neck should not be hard to cover.

After all, back at the Academy, he managed to keep secret two black eyes and a split lip - a reminder from the only time when his father came to see him and found out that he was, in fact, only second best in class. He quickly become the first one, after that. _(And maybe, maybe it was that easy to keep secret because no one really cared_ ).

He wishes for Ren to be there. It's not that he misses his incompetent, childish co-commander - he just misses the distraction that he would surely provide at the current situation.

_The current situation._

Hux almost let's out a cry while applying a nude pasta onto his neck. He bits his lip instead, hard enough to feel the iron taste of his blood.

The current situation includes his reconditioning at the hands of the Supreme Leader. His punishment for losing the Starkiller. For dragging the First Order down.

A punishment for his failure.

The skin on his neck is tender and painful, hot to the touch. The new bruises have already started forming, blossoming over the old, fading ones.

 _You deserve this _,__ he reminds himself. _You deserve every single second, every sleepless night. You failed, you let your weapon be destroyed. You are weak and you deserve this._

When he says those words in his head, it seems as if his father was the one who spoke. Hux shivers at the memory.

He is done with applying the paste and reaches for a container full of white powder to fixate it.

At the same moment, the door to his quarters slides open. Hux drops the powder in surprise.

It's Ren, standing in the entrance to his room. The Knight looks tired, but that is understandable - the "away" mission was probably his own punishment for letting the girl go, for failing in his own way (his failure, however, was not as colossal as Hux' was, that is for sure) and there is bacta gel covering the long cut splitting his face in half.

But he also looks surprised as he takes in the scene in front of him - the fierce general, in his undershirt (his body is too thin, too slim, too bony), standing in front of a mirror, trying to cover the evidence of his failure.

Hux expects him to start laughing, to mock him (maybe hurt him more, too; Hux would not put that past Ren). But to his surprise, Ren does none of these things. His face softens, instead and he closes the door behind him. Then he walks over to Hux, picks up the fallen powder and stands too close (invading his personal space, making him feel cornered, but Ren probably doesn't know that; Hux still wants to push him away, but he feels too tired).

"If you cover it in bacta gel first, it will not hurt so much," he says softly and Hux can't help but shiver. Ren is standing so close that he can feel the heat radiating from his body.

"What would you know," Hux hisses through gritted teeth. Ren smirk.

"You would be surprised," he says. "You should be careful. You have not yet experienced the true anger of our Supreme Leader."

Hux doesn't say anything. He decides to ignore Ren and starts covering the dark shadows under his eyes. He didn't have a chance to get much sleep since the Starkiller disaster.

Ren stays. He sits on the edge of the nearby table and watches Hux intently. After a while, he speaks again.

"Let me do it. You are shaking."

"I am not." Hux knows that it's a lie; his hands are really shaking - in fact, his whole body shivers, small, barely noticeable tremors, but it's there. He is exhausted.

"Yes, you are." He stands up and once again presses himself into Hux' personal space. The general swallows dryly, his throat suddenly tight and dry in a way that has nothing to to do with Snoke's regular force choking.

Ren takes the sponge from Hux' pale hand and dips it in the paste. He then presses it under his eyes, slowly, carefully and Hux finally allows himself to relax. Ren's movements are slow and comforting.

Hux takes a deep breath.

“I am glad you are back,” he says before he can stop himself.

Ren looks him in the eye and puts the sponge down. “There,” he says. “You are as good as new now.”

Hux shakes his head. “No,” he whispers. “I will never be.”

Kylo takes a step back and looks Hux up and down. The General tries to see himself with his eyes and is disgusted; he is pale and thin, his skin sickly yellow and the unnaturally bright light of his quarters surely doesn’t make it any better. He hates himself and expects the Knight to feel the same emotion towards him.

He wonders if Ren can read his thoughts.

“You should get some rest, General.”

Hux shakes his head. “I can’t.”

“You will be of no use to the First Order if you are dead.”

“I will be of no use if I am sleeping, either.”

Ren chuckles. “You think you deserve that,” he says flatly. “You think that you deserve all the pain. It’s not only Snoke who punishes you; you are torturing yourself, too.”

Hux bites into his cheek. There is no point in denying Ren’s words. “But I do deserve this,” he says finally, looking into Knight’s dark eyes.

Ren slowly reaches out and touches Hux’ cheek with his thumb. Hux closes his eyes and leans into the touch.

“I do not know if you do or not,” he says. “That’s beside the point. The only things that matters is that you cannot carry on like this.”

“I cannot rest.” Hux feels his chest tighten, feels his heart beating faster. “I have to fix everything.”

Ren puts his other hand on the back of Hux’s head and brings him closer.

“No,” he says. “You don’t have to.” Slowly, as if he was waiting for Hux’ permission, he leans closer, so that their faces are almost touching. “Let me help you. Can I help you?”

Hux feels overwhelmed. He doesn’t remember the last time he was this close to anyone without the intention of hurting the other party (or the other party hurting him, but those times are long gone). His eyes are burning. At first, he thinks that some of the covering paste has gotten into his eyes, but then he realizes that he is crying. He lets his forehead rest against Kylo’s.

“Help me,” he says. “Help me, Ren.”

“I will,” Ren says. “I promise.” He brings their lips together and ignores the moisture trickling down Hux' cheeks. 


End file.
